2004 Suzuki Forenza - 2.0L Oil Leak

[Tim Martin]

This customer has this 04 Forenza with a 2.0L engine and it is leaking oil slightly on the rear of the engine.

It seems to originate from the head gasket. On Mitchell1 there is a TSB stating that some oil seepage in that area is normal. Has any one run into this yet? At what point is it feasible to address the leakage? It seems to be a fairly stable leak, what I mean is that the customer says that it has been there for some time now and doesn't seem to be getting any worse but they are concerned about the leakage on the garage floor.

[mopwrforme]

Tim if it were a chrysler, dodge or jeep, the spec is 5" in dia. in 30 min. that's for a warr. repair. personally if it hits the ground they get an est.

just be careful, I wouldn't want you to fix there seepage then complain because its seeping again and its a normal condition. good luck

[Tim Martin]

Well, I am having a conflicting issue in my mind with this thing that a certain amount of oil leakage is normal and should be disregarded. Trying to understand the logic of the oem of that one. How do we explain that to the owner? We are in the business of fixing oil leaks but this is one of the some that should not be fixed. Wow!

[steven kiser]

It's the vehicle, not you. In my experience when a manufacturer claims that a nominal amount of leakage is normal they're accepting the fact that their product sucks. If a customer came in with a Ford Escort and said "I'm sick of this, i have a few bucks, turn it into a 300SD." The issue would be clear and the answer automatic. In situations like this i print out the bulletin and sit down and talk to the customer and discuss the situation. If this were in my shop i would explain that the vehicle they own isn't in the top 10 of the country so replacement parts of this level will come from the factory and since the original pieces are admittedly faulted it's can be compared to putting a bullet over a bullet hole. I don't see an updated head gasket set to address this issue like the oil leak on the Chrystler 4 banger probably because of the volume of them.

If the customer understands the situation and wants to go ahead with the gasket replacement then do it with a smile on your face. He knows that the issue will only be resolved for a time. Since your replacing everything with oem parts and the manufacturer admits, by claiming it's normal, that there is a fault , it's doomed to leak again. On certain applications like the older Fords that would leak oil from the head gasket where the oil return port ran down the outside i would tell the customer that a piece of plywood on the garage floor is cheaper than tearing into the engine. I have "green" people that get all squirrely when they start burning a little oil. I explain to them that a quart every 3k isn't anything to worry about and have had one say it wasn't acceptable. I gave him a price of a jasper reman installed. Suddenly it wasn't a big issue especially since i explained to him that the amount of waste created by rebuilding an engine to replace the one in his vehicle fa, far, far, exceeds the amount of waste his engine will ever create.

[Tim Martin]

We are kinda aaaaaaa saying that this brand of vehicle looks up to some others so far as quality goes? Customer is asking that question.

[steven kiser]

As far as comparing one to another it's a moot issue (in my opinion). What you have is what you have and the key here is what to do. It's and admitted issue but so far i've seen nothing more than "it's normal" as opposed to a resolution. Replacing the head gasket will for a time probably stop the leak but since you'll be replacing the parts with same same the issue (proven and admittedly) is going to return. As long as the customer knows and accepts this as it is then i see no reason why not to replace the gasket if customer wants to forge through with it. I would however inspect the head for being porous and block deck for unevenness. The manufacturer can say it's normal avoiding any issues, however what they say may not hold true and they're throwing that out to just answer questions. If they're covering up something the odds are in their favor that no one will opt to spend a grand or better to resolve an oil leak.

[Jeff @ Able Auto]

Oddly enough I have the same model in now for a head gasket. Was ran hot, failed coolant bottle and customer neglect. I am finding it is a conglomeration of GM-Daewoo-Isuzu with a Suzuki badge. Not a bad job...witin to hear from the machine shop on how badly the head was damaged. As far as oil leak this was a grease ball top to bottom. Customer loves his car..droppin a chunk on it for the repair.

[Tim Martin]

As of a phone call this morning, customer is declining all repairs on this car. Is going to Florida. So, I'll see how long this one sets here before they come and get it. Is it mine after 30 days?

[steven kiser]

For the first time since i started my own business i'm implementing a storage policy on vehicles left here while customer is deciding or 3 days after completion. There will be exceptions but as a rule it's going to happen. Did a m.a.s.h. job on a datsun that hadn't run in 17 years. Got it road worthy so customer could tinker and drive. Suddenly summer turned to fall and fall winter. I finally got through to him and when the weather broke he came and got it. Have a Jeepster here and every time i call him to tell him it's all done he asks me to look at a piddly thing. It took a few times until i caught on. He was dodging my calls and when i finally got a hold of him he would ask me to look at a tire or something and then the chase was on again. I think he's trying to leave it here until spring and then take it to the Cape. I'm sending him a registered letter stating he's being charged 100 bucks a week storage and if it snows and i have to move it and clean it that alone is 75 bucks. Now i'll start dodging his calls.

I have a mazda we put a jasper warranty engine in a while ago. It was brought back after 3 months with engine issues. It looked like someone dropped a grenade in the crank case. It's on the project lift so we anticipated it being here for a while. Jasper said somehow sand got into the engine and showed pictures of it in the intake and on the pistons. The disassembled engine was sent back to me and his insurance company looked at it and denied the claim. This has been an ongoing issue between the owner, his insurance company and Jasper. I'm staying out of it. I just notified all involved that the storage fee just passed the amount i would charge for the job so no matter what the result is i'm passing on the job and taking the storage fee. It's been inside the shop. The owner and insurance company knows this. Been here almost 90 days and still no resolution.